The Boov, on the run from their intergalactic enemies the Gorg, take over Earth and relocate the humans — except for a 12-year-old girl named Tip (voice of singer Rihanna), who has holed up with her cat, Pig, waiting for her mother’s return.
She reluctantly joins forces with Oh to find her mom but it turns out she and the visitor from another planet have something in common. They’re both misfits.
Tip was labeled “the nerd from Barbados” when she moved, and Oh mistakenly sent a housewarming party invite to the entire galaxy, possibly signaling to their enemies that the Boov have taken refuge on Earth. That does not go over well with Smek (voice of Steve Martin), the Boov leader who is more boob than anything else but he launches a Boovhunt for Oh.
The animated adventure, inspired by the Adam Rex children’s book “The True Meaning of Smekday,” carries some messages about the value of friendship and of taking risks for the right reward, how humans and aliens alike sometimes can be “sad-mad” and how the enemy may not be what it seems.
In fact, at one point late in the movie, a revelation prompted one boy at a preview to ask in a loud voice, “What the heck?”
“Home,” a forgettable, generic title that replaced the once announced “Happy Smekday!” is occasionally, slyly funny with a sprinkling of potty or rude humor as when Oh mistakes some liquid in a restroom for lemonade. Nope, not lemonade. More typical is a bit where Oh converts a car into a veritable flying convenience store, complete with a lottery machine that spits out scratch-off tickets.
The beauty of the voice of “The Big Bang Theory” star is that you can hear Mr. Parsons’ smile and wonder in it. Rihanna, meanwhile, is all in, sharing green eyes and a Barbados background with her character and performing five songs for the movie. The book version of Oh selects the Earth name of J.Lo but here, the real Jennifer Lopez speaks for a character and sings the ballad “Feel the Light.”
Directed by Tim Johnson (co-director of “Over the Hedge,” “Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas” and “Antz”), the animated “Home” is brightly colored, with aliens who look like soft plastic toys come to life, some world landmarks turned on their heads and bubbles as a key design element. It skews younger than “Cinderella,” is boosted more than usual by 3-D and provides perfectly pleasant entertainment.
It’s not a classic but it will do nicely on a rainy (or sunny) spring Saturday afternoon.